Paper Dolls

Chapter 17

"I think I may have put a target on my back." I chew my finger nail as I pace back and forth. I switched my heels for slippers the moment I got home and now I am walking idly on the rooftop of our building with Hyeon's burner phone glued to my ear. 

"I told you it wasn't a clear cut case. Those girls had motive." Hyeon's voice sounds nasal across the line. 

"I don't know but they were looking for something there. Something Maria said would get them into deep trouble." I then summarise everything that went down earlier that day at Dalia's wake. 

Recounting everything only reminds me of the way the three remaining Sweet Poison members stared at me during the service. They're facial expressions telling me they knew I was up to something. 

The problem is they're not wrong and I don't need this kind of attention hampering either my debut or our little investigation. 

I bite my lip, the stress of today weighing down on my shoulders. "Do you think they're dangerous?"

"I mean if they already got what they wanted. How dangerous could they be?"

"What if they think I know something?" I try not to sound panicked but it carries in my words. 

Hyeon is quick to catch it. "Don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on you. There's no need to look so stressed." 

My head whips around in all directions, eyes widening in alarm. "Are you watching me right now?" 

"Yes, through my lens. It would be hard for you to spot me though. But if you must I'm sitting in your south east direction."

South east. South east? I've never been the best at navigation. My sister used to joke that if I were ever stuck at sea, I would never make it back alive.

"Hmm, your nine o'clock?" Hyeon adds and I finally spot him sitting on a building rooftop almost a yard away. 

"How the hell can you see me so clearly from there?" I berate, feeling slightly intimidated. He clearly can't tell when he's being creepy, like the time he mentioned knowing all about my evaluation when we first met. 

"I spent a bomb on this telephoto lens. Works like magic I tell you." 

I want to roll my eyes but then I remember he's watching. "You better not be taking pictures. I'll report you for recording without consent." 

He scoffs from across the line. "Excuse me. This camera is only used for work and Dalia. I don't fill up my memory card with anything else." 

My lips form a thin line. He sounds honest, at least I hope he is. Anyway if it comes to it, leaked pictures of me talking on our rooftop building will hardly generate any news. I do it almost every weekend when we are given our phones and I call my family back home. 

"Sorry I just wanted to make sure you locked the door behind you. The last thing we need is to attract unwanted attention," Hyeon justifies. 

His words make me stare at the staircase door instinctively and I walk towards it and turn the knob to check if it was locked. Of course it was, I made sure when I came up here with his burner phone in my pocket. 

"I think I've already attracted some unwanted attention," I say thinking back to Summer, Loona and Maria. "This doesn't feel fair. You can see me but I can't see you." 

"Well a camera with this specs is a bit pricey but I could always get you a pair of binoculars." 

I laugh despite myself. An image of us sitting on separate rooftops, talking to each other on the phone while I stare at him through binoculars is downright comical.